ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Animals & pets card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 19 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEnvironment & resources
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Environment & resources

Animals & pets

Keeping cattle, having pets & handling the wild

The dog in the park, the cows in the pasture and the wolf in the forest are governed by completely different sets of rules, but almost every thread runs through the central government. The Animal Welfare Act is the Riksdag's, the inspections are the County Administrative Board's (Länsstyrelsen) and the EU decides the rules for animal transport and slaughter. The municipality's (kommun) role is smaller than many think.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · local rules & nuisances · approx 15 %
  • State · Animal Welfare Act & inspection · approx 55 %
  • EU · transport and slaughter rules · approx 30 %

Animal welfare is the central government's: the law, the regulations and the inspections. The general election weighs the most, but the EU sets the floor for farm animals.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityOrder & the neighbourhood
The regionOn the side
Central governmentAnimal welfare & wildlife · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the environmental committee (miljönämnden).
The region has no formal role in animal questions.
The Riksdag, the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket), the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelsen) and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) for wild animals.
What do they decide?
Local public order rules such as leash requirements and dog bans at bathing sites, nuisances from animals, and permits for certain animal keeping in built-up areas.
No formal role. Animal welfare and wildlife are the central government's responsibility, public order the municipality's.
The Animal Welfare Act and the regulations, the County Administrative Boards' animal welfare inspections, and hunting and wildlife management.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipal council and the environmental committee.
No arena of its own for animal questions.
In the Riksdag, at the Board of Agriculture and at the County Administrative Board, which carries out the inspections.
Who pays?
Municipal tax and certain fees.
Nothing of animal welfare.
The central government budget: inspections, wildlife management and compensation for damage by predators.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election A citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) for a dog park, a comment to the environment office about nuisances.
Regional election The regional election does not affect animal questions.
General election Report mistreatment to the County Administrative Board. The general election steers the Animal Welfare Act.
EUThe EU sets rules for animal transport, slaughter and farm animal keeping across the whole union. Influenced in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A report of an animal being mistreated
  1. EU

    The EU sets the floor

    The EU's animal welfare rules set the minimum level for how farm animals may be kept, transported and slaughtered. Sweden has stricter requirements than that in several areas.

  2. State

    The Riksdag enacts the law

    The Animal Welfare Act says that animals shall be treated well and protected from unnecessary suffering. The Board of Agriculture fills the law with detailed regulations for each type of animal.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers the law, and the Board of Agriculture's regulations are sent out openly as referrals.

  3. State

    You report it to the County Administrative Board

    It is the County Administrative Board, not the municipality, that inspects animal welfare. Anyone who suspects that an animal is being mistreated can report it, and inspectors can carry out unannounced checks.

    Point of influence

    Reporting is open to everyone and can be done anonymously. It is the most common way into the animal welfare system.

  4. State

    The decision gets teeth

    The County Administrative Board can order the owner to correct the shortcomings, take animals into custody and in serious cases decide on an animal ban. The decisions can be appealed to the administrative court (förvaltningsrätt) by the person the decision concerns.

  5. Your everyday life

    The pasture you pass

    The cows in the pasture you cycle past stand under a control system that runs from Brussels via the Riksdag to an inspector in your county. And your own report can be what sets it in motion.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which animals do you meet in your everyday life, and do you know who is responsible for their protection?

  2. Sweden has stricter animal welfare than the EU's minimum level. What is it worth if the food becomes more expensive?

  3. How should predators and domestic animals coexist, and who should decide: the county, the central government or the EU?

  4. Should more be required of those who get a pet, or is it a private matter?

  5. Would you report a neighbour whose animals are being mistreated, and what would make you hesitate?

Glossary

Djurskyddslagen
The Riksdag's law that animals shall be treated well and protected from unnecessary suffering.
Föreskrift
A detailed binding rule that an agency writes under a law.
Föreläggande
An agency's demand that something be corrected, often with a deadline.
Djurförbud
The County Administrative Board's decision that a person may not keep animals.
Viltförvaltning
The central government's handling of wild animals: hunting seasons, licensed hunting and protective hunting.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.